Combination load-hauling vehicle and floor sweeper



J. M. MORROW Dec. 26, 1961 COMBINATION LOAD-HAULING VEHICLE AND FLOORSWEEPER Filed March 19, 1958 1 FY r Z1 57' 7 JOHN M. Mo

INVENTOR:

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BY ZOi OYL M 'PW ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofilice 1 Patented Dec.26', 1961 3,014,228 COMBINATION LOAD-HAULING VEHICLE AND recon SWEEPERJohn M. Morrow, 828 N. 6th 52., Albemarle, N.C. Filed Mar. 19, 1958,Ser. No. 722,483 6 Claims. (Cl. 1s 79 This invention relates to yarn,thread and fabric production from textile fibers of various types, andmore particularly, to improved apparatus for cleaning the floors oftextile mills and the like to prevent the accumulation of short fibers,lint, yarn and any loose foreign matter in the aisles between the rowsof textile machinery.

It is well known that the making of yarn, threads and fabrics fromtextile fibers, such as cotton and the like, includes the separation,cleaning and blending of the fibers and then drawing them out throughvarious operations so that individual fibers tend to become parallel andform indefinite length, slightly twisted, rope-like strands, generallyknown as roving. This roving is then fed into spinning frames whichfurther parallel the fibers and twist them into yarn. This yarn may thenbe further processed in various ways if desired before normally beingformed into a fabric or garment.

Now, during these various stages of yarn and fabric preparation, aconsiderable problem arises in the accumulation and removal of textilewaste from the mill fioor. This waste is, of course, undesirable in allparts of the mill in that (1) it presents a fire and safety hazard, (2)it tends to collect and become entangled around and bind the wheels orcasters of bobbin trucks and other article carrying trucks and the likeas they move throughout the mill, and (3) it is unsightly. Moreimportantly, waste presents an especially acute problem in spinningrooms. Here the forming of the roving and yarn takes place, and thewaste which accumulates on the flor comprises the short broken fibersknown as fly or lint and any insecurely retained longer fibers whichtend to be thrown out to float in the air and settle, to a large extent,on the aisle floors between the rows ofmachines. If this loose lint orfly is not readily removed, it is stirred up from the floor by -aircurrents and machine attendants walking about and tends to gather in theroving or the yarn being spun and materially reduces the quality of thefinished yarn by forming thick places, commonly known as slabs, whichcause weakness, breakage and loss of yarn product.

In an effort to reduce these problems caused by the various forms offloor waste in textile mills, it has long been the practice to providepersonnel commonly known as sweepers whose primary, and often sole, dutyis to manually sweep the floors with brooms on plough-like brushes. Itis not uncommon for an average size spinning room to employ as many asthree such sweepers whose sole duty it is .to sweep the fly or lintwaste from the floor.

This necessity for additional personnel is, of course, expensive, andfurthermore, the presence of these additional personnel in the smallaisles between the machines tends to hinder the efficiency of themachine attendants and other personnel organic to the operation.

During recent years the waste and sweeper problems have been somewhatalleviated in some spinning operations by the use of automatic sweepingapparatuses. One type of automatic apparatus, for example, is in theform of a fan mounted beneath each spinning frame and adapted toreciprocate the length thereof and blow the the lint from the floorbeneath the spinning frame and across the adjacent aisle and underneaththe next adjacent machine and, ultimately, to a collecting device orwaste receptacle usually at one side of the spinning room. The automaticapparatuses have proven to be highly satisfactory and have enabled millsusing such apparatuses to reduce or completely eliminate the number ofsweepers necessary, dependent on the type of apparatus used. The factstill remains, however, that these automatic apparatuses have notcompletely eliminated the necessity for manual sweeping in all cases dueto the accumulation of waste between cleaning cycles. In addition, theseapparatuses naturally require capital expenditures which may not bewarranted in some cases, and further, they are not always feasible oreconomically adapt-able to mill operations other than spinningand thelike.

With the above problems in -mind, I have invented a new apparatus forsweeping floors of textile mills which results in the reduction, to alarge extent, of the necessity for sweeper operators or personnel. Inthis apparatus, I take advantage of the fact that almost all operationsin textile mills require the use of carrying trucks of various types.These trucks are used primarily by personnel whose duty it is to keepthe machines filled with the necessary materials to be processed andalso, in many cases, to dolf or remove the processed product from themachines.

For example, bobbin trucks are used in a spinning room and are operatedby personnel who place bobbins of roving onto spinning frames and removeempty bobbins when the roving is exhausted therefrom. Now, these trucksare consistently moved up and down the aisles between the rows ofmachines, and I therefore take advantage of this movement by mounting aself-dotting or self-cleaning elongated brush or the like underneaththese trucks. In may apparatus, I am therefore able to incorporate afloor sweeping function into another necessary organic function-that ofmoving trucks throughout the mill-without any additional effort on thepart of the truck operator and, thus, substantially reduce the necessityfor manual sweeping and, at the same time, provide simple means forkeeping the wheels or casters of the truck substantially free of wasteclinging thereto since the brush is moved ahead of at least some of thetruck wheels or casters due to its being mounted preferably at a medialportion of the bottom wall of the truck.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide newand labor-saving apparatus for sweeping floors of textile mills whichwill aid or supplement automatic cleaning apparatuses in those millsthat are so equipped and reduce the number of manual sweepers sometimesnecessary to complete the sweeping function. Also, the present inventionresults in materially or substantially reducing the number of manualsweepers necessary in those mills that are not equipped with automaticsweeping apparatuses.

It is also an object of this invention to provide sweeping means incombination with a movable truck and the like for sweeping floors intextile mills.-

It is a further object of this invention to provide a movable truck withsweeping means mounted underneath the same and extending substantiallythe width of the truck for sweeping the floor upon which the truck ismoved about, and wherein the sweeping means is so mounted to sweep thefloor in advance of at least some of the truck wheels or casters to thusprolong the periods between cleaning the wheels or casters to removewaste which has entangled around them and interfered with theiroperation.

It is also a further object of this invention to mount sweeping meansunderneath a movable truck in such a manner that the same may readilydoff itself upon the mass of swept material reaching certain proportionsand wherein the sweeping .means is so mounted that it will readily rideover any obstacle in its path of travel to avoid interfering with themovement of the truck.

Some of the objects of the invention have been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds 3 when taken in Connection withthe ings, in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevation showing a bobbin truckor the like with sweeping means mounted thereunder in accordance with myinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary isometric view, with parts broken away forclarity, on a somewhat larger scale and showing the manner in which thesweeping means is mounted underneath the truck;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevation on still a larger scale showingthe sweeping means in its normal sweeping position;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the sweeping means asit is dofiing itself;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the position of thesweeping means immediately following the dofiing operation;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side elevation on a larger scale than FIGURE 5showing the bracket for supporting the sweeping means being in a loweredadjusted position to permit a partially worn sweeping means shown intheform of a brush to be lowered to the proper sweeping height;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side elevation view on the same scale asFIGURE 6 showing a modified form of the invention wherein the bracketfor supporting the sweeping means is shown as being non-adjustablysecured to the bottom of the truck.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, reference numeral 10designates the body of a conventional bobbin truck or the like. Wheelsor casters 11, 12, 13 and 14 are mounted to the underside of body 10 byany suitable well known means. Sweeping means, shown in the form of anelongated brush 15 comprising a head 16 and bristles 17 suitably securedthereto is mounted beneath body 10 so that bristles 17 are in contactwith the floor beneath the truck. Brush 15 may be made from aconventional elongated push broom wherein the bristles are preferablystiff. It should be noted, however, that the sweeping means may be otherthan a brush. For example, an elongated blade made of hard rubber or thelike could be employed but tests have shown that a bristle-type brush ismuch more effective.

Referring now more specifically to FIGURES 1 to 6, the brush 15 isprovided with studs or pins 18 extending in a horizontal plane fromopposite ends of the head 16 thereof. These pins 18 serve to pivotallycarry the opposite ends of the brush in suitable brackets 22, 22'. Sinceeach bracket and the means for mounting the same are identical, adescription of only one will now be given with the identical elements ofthe other differentiated by the addition of the prime notation to thereference numerals thereof. Each of the brackets is shown in the form ofa substantially U-shaped member having spaced apart leg portions 22adefining an elongated vertical slot therebetween to permit the pin 18 torest in the lower end or cradle portion thereof and at the same time toreadily ride upwardly therein in the event that the brush 15 encountersan obstacle or obstruction in its sweeping operation.

The upper end of the bracket 22 is provided with horizontally flangedends as indicated by reference numeral 22b, each of which is providedwith an opening or aperture which is penetrated by a threaded bolt orpin 23. A nut 24 is provided for firmly securing each of the bolts 23 tothe underside of the truck 10' and pairs of adjusting nuts 25 areprovided for engaging opposite sides of each of the flange ends 22b ofthe bracket 22.

Normally the bristles 17 of the brush 15 will tend to wear afterextensive use and for this reason the simple adjusting means heretoforedescribed with reference to accompanying drawvarying the position of thebracket 22 is preferably proto lower the brush 15 by merely adjustingthe adjusting nuts 25.

Referring now more specifically to FIGURE '7, the embodiment showntherein varies from the preferred embodiment heretofore described merelyby fixedly securing the supporting brackets for the brush to theunderside of the truck. The same reference numerals heretofore used withreference to the brush elements are used for describing the brushelements of this embodiment of the invention. However, for clarity,different reference numerals are being employed for the supporting meansfor the brush.

As shown in FIGURE 7, a bracket 30 similar to the bracket 22 heretoforedescribed is shown for pivotally supporting each of the studs 18 on thebrush 15. It should be noted however that the bracket 30 issubstantially longer than the bracket 22 since the same is suitablysecured by bolts 31 and nuts 32 to the underside of the truck 10. As inthe preferred form of the invention, the bracket 30 is provided withspaced apart leg portions 30a which define an elongated vertical slottherebetween to permit the stud 18 to move upwardly therein in the eventof the brush 15 running into an obstruction or obstacle in its sweepingoperation. It is to be understood, of course, that if the obstacle orobstruction is relatively small that the brush 15 will readily risethereover without the stud 13 moving upwardly in the slot defined by thebracket 30 by merely pivoting on its axis and swinging rearwardly andriding thereover.

Referring now more specifically to the mode of operation of theapparatus and to FIGURES 3, 4 and S, W designates a quantity of sweptfloor waste, such as fly or lint, which would accumulate in front ofbristles 17 as the truck is moved in the direction of the arrows shown.Since brush 15 is pivotally suspended from member 22, 22' by virtue ofstuds 18, 18 resting in the brackets 22, 22, the brush 15 is free topivot upwardly and rearwardly towards wheels 12, 13 and 14. In normaloperation, brush 15 will initially start in a substantially verticalposition and collect the floor Waste W in the front of brush 15 as thetruck moves along the floor as illustrated in FIGURE 3. As the wasteaccumulates and builds up into a large mass, an increasing amount offorce is necessary to push it along the floor. Accordingly the waste Wultimately builds up to such a size that the pivotally mounted brushpivots rearwardly and rides over this mass thus doffing itself of thismass of waste as illustrated in FIGURE 4 and returns to normal sweepingposition leaving waste W therebehind as illustrated in FIGURE 5.

Therefore, it can readily be seen that with the provision of my novelapparatus on all or many of the bobbin trucks in a spinning room, or onother types of trucks in other phases of textile operations, the floorsof these particular rooms can be swept merely by the consistent, andnecessary, movement of these trucks throughout the particular roomswhere such trucks are used, thus substantially reducing the necessityfor manual sweeping and the labor required therefor. In addition tothis, my apparatus also provides novel and inexpensive means forpreventing the accumulation of waste around the wheels of bobbin truckson which my apparatus is employed.

In the drawings and specification there have been set forth severalembodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a wheeled truck adapted to carry bobbins or thelike, elongated sweeping means mounted beneath said truck and extendingsubstantially the full width thereof, substantially U-shapedcradleforming members on said truck freely supporting the ends of saidsweeping means in the cradles thereof for pivotal movement of saidsweeping means about an axis angularly disposed to the direction oftravel of the truck, and means for vertically adjusting each U-shapedmember relative to the surface on which the truck travels to permit thesweeping means to be periodically lowered to compensate for wearthereof.

2. In a truck having a plurality of wheels for transporting bobbins orthe like of textile yarn across a floor of a textile mill likely toaccumulate foreign matter such as lint, fly, threads and the like; theimprovement comprising the combination therewith of sweeping meanspositioned underneath said truck for engagement with the floor to sweepforeign matter thereon as the truck is moved across the floor, and meanmounting said sweeping means on the underside of said truck for pivotalmovement about an axis angularly disposed to the direction of travel ofsaid truck, said mounting means comprising a pair of spaced laterallyextending pins rigidly afiixed to one of said truck and said sweepingmeans, and a pair of brackets affixed to the other of said truck andsaid sweeping means, each of said brackets having spaced parallel legsconnected together at one end by a cradle portion to define a verticallyextending channel, said pins being received in the channels adjacentsaid cradle portions, each of said channels having a constant widththroughout its vertical extent of a magnitude to loosely receive itsrespective pin for pivotal and floating movement therein, and thefloating movement of said pins in their respective channels beingconfied bysaid parallel legs to substantially straight-line movement,whereby said sweeping means exhibits a tendency to be raised upwardlyfrom the floor in response to its engagement with an amount of foreignmatter suflicient to cause it to be pivoted rearwardly.

3. The structure defined in claim 2, wherein means are provided tovertically adjust said mounting means for periodically lowering saidsweeping means relative to the underside of said truck to compensate forwear of said sweeping means.

4. In combination with a wheeled truck of the type for transportingtextile bobbins or the like across a floor of a textile mill, elongatedsweeping means extending substantially the entire width of the truck andpositioned underneath the truck, means dependingly mounting saidsweeping means to the underside of said truck for free pivotal movementforwardly and rearwardly about an axis angularly disposed to thedirection of travel of the truck, said mounting means comprising a pairof U-shaped brackets secured to the underside of said truck in spacedapart relationship and freely supporting the respective ends of saidsweeping means, and means for vertically adjusting said brackets withrespect to the underside of said truck to position said sweeping meansin floating engagement with the floor for cleaning the floor as saidtruck is moved across the floor.

5. In a truck having a plurality of wheels for transporting bobbins orthe like of textile yarn across a floor of a textile mill likely toaccumulate foreign matter such as lint, fly, threads and the like; theimprovement comprising the combination therewith of an elongatedsweeping means extending substantially the entire width of said truckand positioned underneath said truck, said sweeping means comprising ahead and bristles aifixed to said head, said bristles extendingdownwardly from said head, and means mounting said sweeping means on theunderside of said truck for free pivotal movement forwardly andrearwardly about an axis. angularly disposed to the direction of travelof the truck, said mounting means comprising a pair of pins affixed tothe opposite ends of the head of said sweeping means and extendingoutwardly therefrom and a pair of brackets secured to the underside ofsaid truck, each of said brackets having spaced parallel verticallyextending legs connected together at their lower ends by a cradleportion to define a vertically extending channel, said pins beingreceived in the channels adjacent said cradle portions, each of saidchannels having a constant width throughout its vertical extent of amagnitude to loosely receive its respective pin for free pivotal andvertical floating movement. therein, said pins being confined tosubstantially straight-line movement in their respective channels bysaid parallel legs, and said pins supporting said sweeping means infreely depending relation from said brackets for floating engagement ofsaid bristles with the floor to sweep foreign matter thereon as saidtruck is moved across the floor, whereby said sweeping means exhibits atendency to be raised upwardly from the floor in response to itsengagement with an accumulation of foreign matter suflicient to causesaid sweeping means to be pivoted rearwardly.

6. The structure defined in claim 5, each of said brackets furtherincluding outwardly extending horizontal flanges at the upper ends ofsaid parallel legs, vertically extending threaded bolts secured to theunderside of said truck and penetrating corresponding flanges of saidbrackets, and a pair of nuts threadably received by each of said boltson opposite sides of the respective flanges penetrated by each saidbolt, whereby said brackets are vertically adjustable to raise and lowersaid sweeping means with respect to the floor.

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